The Good

Without being pollyanna, the good news for stock investors in Monday's sea of red could be that the Dow Jones Industrial Average remains right around the key psychological level of 17,000—even as the Federal Reserve winds down its latest bond-buying program and considers when to actually start raising interest rates.

Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, a policy dove, told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Monday that he'd wait longer than June to bump up rates—saying, in fact, he believes it would be "quite some time" before it would be appropriate to start increasing rates.

The Bad

The Dow opened Monday with another triple-digit drop. Gains and losses of more than 100 points were the norm every day last week—the first time that's happened in 16 months. While volatility in and of itself might not be a bad thing for traders, it can create some uncertainty among individual investors on Main Street.

The Ugly

Bobby Yip | Reuters

Riot police use pepper spray as they clash with protesters, as tens of thousands of protesters block the main street to the financial Central district outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong September 28, 2014.

Adding to uncertainty in financial markets , pro-democracy protesters expanded their rallies throughout Hong Kong on Monday—defying calls to disperse in a major pushback against Beijing's decision to limit democratic reforms in the Asian financial hub. Authorities in Hong Kong defended their use of tear gas and other tactics to control demonstrations.